For years bones have been repaired using medical hardware such as nails, screws, or pins, often in combination with plates or rods. In order to stabilize a fractured bone, for example, the surgeon usually inserts one or more pieces of hardware across the fracture to hold the broken bones together in compression during the healing process. Compression is crucial to bone healing as it stabilizes the bone and stimulates bone growth. These hardware devices are often used in multiples because the compression force of the hardware is limited by how well the chosen hardware affixes to the bone. When more than one hardware device is used, they are often applied to opposing sides of the fracture requiring larger incisions or multiple incisions. The increase in the number of pieces of hardware also leads to increased time in surgery, higher cost of the surgery, greater potential for scarring and stiffness, and increased risk for another surgery to remove painful hardware.
When a person ages, their bones become more brittle as the cortex gets thinner, increasing the likelihood of broken bones. While weakened bones are prevalent in the elderly, such conditions are not limited to the elderly and can be found in people of any age. In weakened bones, the hardware used to repair a bone can cause damage to the bone when initially inserted and can more easily loosen from the bone during routine activity. With more brittle bones, hardware must be inserted more strategically in only the strongest parts of the bone, necessitating a maximum amount of holding force with a minimum amount of hardware. The problem then exists that if holding force is increased, or even remains constant, while using less hardware, the pressure exerted by each piece of hardware is increased in bone that likely cannot sustain the higher forces involved.
Thus, the need exists for a device to stabilize a bone that can be quickly and easily installed with minimal invasiveness. This device must be able to provide adequate holding force to facilitate healing, while reducing the risk of further damage to the bone. Advantageously, the device would also reduce human error by limiting the force that can be applied during installation.